SUMMARY OF THE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT
FORUM ACTION TEAM CO-CHAIRS CONFERENCE CALL

September 9, 1997 12:30 p.m.­2:00 p.m.

On September 17, 1997, Walter Kovalick, co-chair of the Remediation
Technologies Development Forum (RTDF), met with co-chairs from four of the seven
RTDF action teams in a conference call. The following co-chairs were present:

Also present were Jeff Heimerman (sitting in for Kovalick during part of the
meeting); Trish Erickson (sitting in for RTDF Co-chair Robert Olexsey); Mason
Hughes (sitting in for Lasagna  Partnership Action Team Co-chair Phil
Brodsky); Rich Steimle (TIO liason for the Permeable Reactive Barriers and In
Situ Flushing Action Teams); Carolyn Perroni of Environmental Management
Systems, Inc. (EMS); and Colin Devonshire of Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG).
Due to scheduling conflicts, the co-chairs of the In Situ Flushing,
Permeable Reactive Barriers, and Phytoremediation of Organics action teams were
not able to participate.

UPDATE OF RTDF PUBLICATIONS

New Issue of RTDF Update Perroni said EMS
is in the process of producing the latest issue of the RTDF Update
progress report. Perroni is writing articles for each action team based on
material provided by the action team co-chairs; in some cases she is including
complete articles provided by the action team co-chairs. Perroni will try to
give her articles to the action team co-chairs for comments within two weeks.
The new issue will be distributed at the RTDF annual meeting on October 15 to 16
in Evanston, Illinois, and then will be sent to everyone on the RTDF mailing
list.

Update of Action Team Fact Sheets EMS/ERG is also
preparing an updated fact sheet about each action team. These fact sheets will
be based on current information provided by the action team co-chairs. The fact
sheets should also be ready for distribution at the annual meeting, to be
followed by a formal release and mailing by EPA. EMS is still collecting data
for an RTDF overview fact sheet, which should also be ready in time for the
annual meeting.

Ryan said that the In-Place Inactivation and Natural Ecological Restoration
Technologies (IINERT) Soil-Metals Action Team continues to move forward in
several areas of research. In one project, the team is feeding swine treated
soil from the Joplin, Missouri, field site. Through these feedings the team
will determine whether its experimental in situ treatment of
lead-contaminated soil at the site has reduced the bioavailability of lead in
the soil. Ryan said the results from the first feeding trial, which was recently
completed, look promising, and a second trial is in progress or will be shortly.
The Action Team has established some test plots at another field site to
investigate stabilization techniques for mining waste. The Action Team is also
progressing with its research to demonstrate that bioavailability of lead in
humans can be measured both by other in vivo models (besides swine
models) and by in vitro models. The Team's research indicates that,
in the case of lead, the absorption process in the human model is
chemistry-dependent, rather than physiology-dependent.

Hughes told the group that the vertical Lasagna  group has completed
its Phase II-a field study. Hughes reported that this study was a resounding
success, and the Department of Energy (DOE) has accepted Lasagna 
technology as the remediation technique of choice for the TCE-contaminated site
in Paducah, Kentucky. DOE has given the Action Team permission to proceed with
the Record of Decision process. Hughes said the Action Team is preparing for
another 6-to-12 months of activity to complete the Record of Decision. The
Paducah project will be the first time that Lasagna  technology is
implemented for full-scale site remediation. While "resting" before
the ROD process, the Action Team has been investigating the possibility of
commercializing Lasagna  technology. The Team has met with two groups of
remediation companies to discuss licensing arrangements, and over the next few
months, it hopes to complete agreements with various companies to set fixed
costs for licensing the Lasagna  process for specific sites. Hughes said
that with these agreements in place, the Action Team should be able to work with
remediation companies to develop proposals for various agencies that might need
the Lasagna  process for cleaning up TCE-contaminated areas.

Roulier updated the group on the actions of the horizontal Lasagna 
group. The group has installed two small horizontal Lasagna  cells at
Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Ohio. One cell has a biological
treatment zone, the other a zero-valent-iron treatment zone. The biological
cell has operated long enough to move TCE into the treatment zone. The group
has turned off the power supply at this cell and begun the treatment process to
capture the TCE in granular activated carbon. Intermediate soil samples from
the biological cell showed that, in a short time, the process has already
achieved a 30 percent reduction of TCE between the electrodes. Roulier said the
iron treatment cell is currently running well; the group has not yet collected
intermediate soil samples from this cell. The group is set to prepare a new
field site at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. The materials for a treatment
cell, including 6 tons of graphite and 20 tons of iron, are already on order,
and the group hopes to install two cells at the site in the next few weeks. The
cells will treat contaminants including TCE, vinyl chloride, and DCE. The group
has built a small cell in Cincinnati to test the power supply to be used at the
Offutt installation. Through this test cell, the group managed to decrease
resistance heating and improve conductance. In the next few weeks the group
will test a remote-sensing and operating system, which will be used to control
the Offutt cells from off site.

Timberlake was pleased to report that Yare has joined him as the new
co-chair of the Sediments Remediation Action Team. Yare said they are excited
to get the Action Team working again and to make up for lost time. While the
Action Team has canceled its tentative plans for a team meeting at the RTDF
annual meeting, Timberlake and Yare will meet at that time to plan upcoming team
activities.

Bioremediation Consortium Action TeamGreg Sayles (EPA)

Sayles told the group that the Bioremediation Consortium Action Team is
developing three biotechnologies to clean up chlorinated solvents: vadose zone
bioventing, accelerated anaerobic treatment of ground water, and natural
attenuation in ground water. The Action Team's first field site is at Dover Air
Force Base in Delaware, where the Team continues to make progress studying
accelerated anaerobic treatment. Though the bioventing system at Dover is
installed, the Team has had to postpone bioventing studies because of an
unusually high water table. Sayles anticipates that the water table should
recede enough by October to allow the Team to begin bioventing at Dover. The
action team has identified a site for a Phase II bioventing study at Hill Air
Force Base in Utah, where it should begin field work next spring. The Action
Team is currently conducting laboratory studies of soil treatability for this
site, and is also beginning work on a soil treatability protocol. The Team is
still searching for a field site for its Phase II ground-water study. Although
negotiations with potentially responsible parties for one prospective field site
have broken down, the Team is actively investigating other possible sites, and
will conduct some site visits over the next few weeks.

RTDF ANNUAL MEETING

Perroni told the group that, although plans are set for the RTDF annual
meeting on October 15 and 16 in Evanston, Illinois, only around 12 people
(including two co-chairs) have registered so far. The hotel is fixing some
recent problems with its registration systems. Perroni reminded the co-chairs
that they can also register through the RTDF Web site. The cutoff date for
hotel registration in September 23.

The only action team still planning to meet separately during the first
morning of the meeting is the In Situ Flushing Action Team (although
its co-chairs have not yet finalized an agenda). The RTDF still has two
additional conference rooms reserved for the morning of October 15. Perroni is
going to ask ERG to cancel reservations for one of these rooms, and unless the
co-chairs can think of a need for the remaining conference room, in a few days
Perroni will ask ERG to cancel that reservation as well.

Perroni announced that three speakers have agreed to participate in the
panel discussion on team organizational structure and funding opportunities: Joe
Salvo (General Electric), Larry Radkin (EPA), and Skip Chamberlain (DOE). There
have been no other changes to the meeting agenda.

Perroni said that an overhead projector and slide projector will be
available in the main meeting room. She asked the co-chairs to let her know
ahead of time about any audiovisual equipment needs they may have.

Kovalick informed the co-chairs that the federal government cannot procure
coffee for the meeting. He said that unless the private companies involved want
to take action, only water will be available during the meeting.

Kovalick said he would like to set aside about half an hour at the annual
meeting to discuss joint technology demonstrations being performed through other
government/industry parallel partnerships. He said several of these
demonstration projects are generating results in the field that might be
relevant to the RTDF.

NEXT CO-CHAIRS CONFERENCE CALL

The next co-chair conference call was tentatively scheduled for Tuesday,
November 18, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m., EDT. The backup date is Monday, November
17, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

MISCELLANEOUS

Hughes said that the Lasagna  Partnership Action Team has encountered
increasing interest in electrokinetic processes among other technology and
remediation companies. He suggested that the RTDF consider involving these
interested parties by either expanding the Lasagna  Partnership Action
Team or starting a new, broader electrokinetic technology action team. Hughes
noted that Lasagna's  success could pave the way for other electrokinetic
processes, which in turn could further acceptance of Lasagna. Hughes said
a possible avenue of expansion for Lasagna  technology is remediation of
radionuclides. The Lasagna  Partnership Action Team has contacted Robin
Anderson (EPA) about securing funding to extend the Lasagna  concept to
radionuclide cleanup. Hughes said he was certain that other companies would be
interested in participating in an action team devoted to a broad range of
electrokinetic technologies, especially if the team's scope included
radionuclide remediation.

Kovalick responded that he would prefer to start a new action team, separate
from Lasagna  and open to other vendors, consultants, etc.,
without restriction from existing partnership agreements. Hughes agreed with
this approach. Kovalick suggested that they propose this at the RTDF annual
meeting. Hughes said they could contact potentially interested parties in the
months following the annual meeting, and convene the new action team at a
meeting in the spring. Kovalick said that, in the past, action teams have
needed both interest from problem-owner companies and expertise from EPA (or
other government bodies) in order make the action teams a partnership of private
industry and government. He suggested that the group inquire within EPA and DOE
for a potential electrokinetics co-chair from the government side. Hughes said
Anderson would be a good co-chair or might know of other candidates. Erickson
and Kovalick will search for interested people within EPA and DOE. Kovalick
said this subject should be added to the agenda of the annual meeting.

ACTION ITEMS

Add the following items to the agenda for the RTDF annual meeting:

Discussion of the possibility of a new action team for electrokinetic
technologies.

Discussion of joint technology demonstrations performed by other parallel
partnerships.